Final Nasher Xchange sculpture boldly gets to the point at Dallas City Hall

Final Nasher Xchange sculpture boldly gets to the point at City Hall

Rendering of Rachel Harrison's sculpture for the Nasher Xchange program, Moore to the point, which will bring attention to Henry Moore's The Dallas Piece in front of Dallas City Hall.
Photo courtesy of Nasher Sculpture Center

Looking at Moore's sculpture from City Hall also provides one of the better views of downtown Dallas.
Photo by Alex Bentley

Several of the pieces in Nasher Sculpture Center's upcoming Xchange program have proclaimed to honor Dallas' art history in oblique ways. The 10th and final project, a sculpture from New York-based artist Rachel Harrison, will take a much bolder approach.

Harrison's sculpture, Moore to the point, will be a giant, 25-foot neon pink arrow installed next to Henry Moore's The Dallas Piece in front of Dallas City Hall. Harrison came up with the idea when she visited the site and found Moore's sculpture surrounded by metal barricades, preventing anyone from experiencing it as it should be.

Rachel Harrison's piece will be an obvious invitation for visitors to interact with a piece of Dallas history they likely never gave a second thought.

Moore's sculpture consists of three separate large metal pieces, all curves and undulations that contrast starkly with the angular I.M. Pei-designed City Hall. It was at Harrison's request that the barricades, which had been up for a long period, were removed.

Harrison's pink arrow not only will point at Moore's piece, but it will also be put at an angle that complements the tilt of City Hall. It will be an obvious invitation for visitors to interact with a piece of Dallas history they likely never gave a second thought.

Its placement is also appropriate for the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, as City Hall itself, which opened in 1978, was an attempt by the city to change how people saw Dallas following the tragedy.

This sculpture marks Harrison’s first ever public art commission. She's previously been known for working with consumer products and found objects alongside abstract forms she creates by hand to create combinations of seemingly incongruous things.